As Sen. Stabenow declared, “negotiating the best price is the American way.”

Reporters peppered the Senator with one of Big Pharma’s arguments: that the House bill as written wouldn’t give Medicare enough leverage to negotiate well.

The Senator replied, “We have two arguments that are used on this,” that “it’s really not going to make any difference” and it’s going to cut into the drug industry’s enormous profits. Both can’t be true.

Further noting the massive amounts of money Big Pharma is throwing around to kill a bill that supposedly won’t affect prices, Sen. Stabenow said, “Their behavior does not fit the rhetoric.”

Dean Baker put the emphasis on the Bush Administration to follow through in good-faith if the bill passed, stressing that savings would not materialize if Bush’s Health and Human Services secretary — who is publicly opposed to negotiation — didn’t try to drive a hard bargain.

Campaign for America’s Future co-director Roger Hickey announced that versions of the new report will be tailored for all 50 states. And special activities will target states with Senators seen as undecided on the legislation, including: Sens. Norm Coleman (MN), Gordon Smith (OR), John Sununu (NH), George Voinovich (OH), Olympia Snowe (ME), Susan Collins (ME) and Arlen Specter (PA).

Hickey drew a clear line for what the upcoming vote means: “Are you on our side, or are you on the side of the drug industry?”

Recent Stories by Bill Scher

If you want a presidential candidate who supports a carbon tax you should vote for Bernie Sanders. If you want a presidential candidate that has thought through how to best communicate on climate, Hillary Clinton may be your best bet.

President Obama is working on a program to cap carbon emissions from power plants. As with Obamacare, states will have latitude how it is implemented. As with Obamacare, recalcitrant Obama-hating states will be hurting themselves.

Who said this? "I think that some of the people who are objecting the most and just refusing even to accede to the idea of ever getting any understanding ... down in their deepest thoughts, have accepted that war is inevitable."

About Bill Scher

Bill Scher is the Online Campaign Manager at Campaign for America's Future, and the executive editor of LiberalOasis.com. He is the author of Wait! Don't Move To Canada!: A Stay-and-Fight Strategy to Win Back America, a regular contributor to Bloggingheads.tv and host of the LiberalOasis Radio Show weekly podcast. He has opinion articles that have been published by the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Omaha World-Herald, and has made appearances on CNN, MSNBC and NPR among other TV and radio outlets.